Hotel operator to open first hospital facility by January

CEBU, Philippines — Alenter Resort Hotels Corporation targets to open its first hospital facility by January next year.

The Allegiant Regional Care (ARC) Hospital will be the first healthcare venture of the Group, which operates the Bluewater Maribago, Bluewater Sumilon, and Bluewater Panglao in Bohol.

ARC will be a 100-bed digitally-run secondary hospital, which will be situated in a four-hectare property in Barangay Agus, Lapu-Lapu City.

"After 34 years in the hospitality industry, we are now ready to diversify into healthcare services," said the Group's chief executive officer (CEO) Julie Alegrado-Vergara during the official media launching of ARC Hospitals held at Maribago Bluewater Resort in Lapu-Lapu City, Wednesday.

The company has partnered with international institutions like John Hopkins Medicine, Icon Singapore, and the solutions company Napier for its Hospital Information System (HIS).

"We aim to create a more patient-centric environment. The integration of digital technology in the overall customer experience streamlines the whole process of healthcare management," said Vergara referring to its partnership with Napier, which will bring in world-class healthcare service in Cebu.

The group, which was founded by the late Consul Arcadio Alegrado, is now managed by his children led by Vergara and the third generation of the Alegrado clan, such as Dr. Alex Alegrado, and Engineer Kerbasi Alegrado Ugarte.

Ugarte, project development director of ARC Hospitals, said that the construction is already 75 percent complete and that by January next year, outpatient, and other services will be opened commercially.

By March 2018, the hospital will be operational in full-swing.

According to Ugarte, the company is planning to expand its healthcare arm in the next few years, and priority areas will be locations where their hospitality facilities are present, like Southern Cebu, Bohol, and Butuan City in Mindanao. (FREEMAN)